Samuel Adams Red Lager
Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company)

 

 

Bought the variety pak at Costco and very pleased with this one beer. The others not so much. They probably have a winner here.

 

Look - poured from a 12 oz can. Crimson red in color, a two finger head that dissipates but leaves behind plenty of lacing.
Smell - strong whiff of malts, with caramel and a hint of hops.
Taste - surprisingly fruity forward, backed by strong malt flavor and complimented with a bit of hoppiness as well. Taste is well balanced and really quite tasty.
Feel - medium bodied, below average carbonation, and a bit more potent than usual beers of the style at 5.9%.
Overall - this was a really tasty one from Sam Adams. The balance in the flavors makes this a tasty, refreshing, and complex enough beer to keep me interested for quite some time. A real great rotating that should be made available year round.

 

 

This is a new one in Sam's latest holiday sampler. This one is cans, which is a nice touch. Malty sweetness and caramel is the main player in the nose, along with yeast and cocoa powder.

A little watery in texture, and a little all over the place in taste, with bread and biscuit notes predominating after a garbled start with chocolate and caramel and yeast. Not really my cup of tea.

 

 

From the 12 fl. oz. can with a best by date of Jan 2019. Sampled on October 26, 2018.

Notable reddish-brown color with a lacing-leaving cream colored head and a slight haze.

The aroma emits sensations of toasted caramel malts, buttered bread, and a low to no hop profile.

The body is around medium.

The taste has that red-caramel and buttery malt sweetness that has a mild to moderate dry finish. It tastes like a red.

A very pleasant surprise from Samuel Adams. I had no idea that they were canning a Red Lager until I saw this one on the shelf of a Craft Beer Cellar store in MA. Fortunately I picked up can and found that, despite its seeming lack of prominence among the Samuel Adams inventory of beer styles and labels, it was one of the best of their many beers I've tasted to date. The color and taste are what I'd hope for in this style of beer. I'll definitely revisit the store and pick up a 4-pack while hoping that this becomes a part of their year-round group rather than just a fall seasonal.

 

12 oz bottle poured into a pub-style pint.

Appearance
Beautiful crimson-amber hue. 1.5 fingers of foamy khaki head.

Nose
Caramel, toast, simple syrup, nutty, and floral.

Taste
Caramel, simple syrup, and toasted white head. Slightly nutty with hints of floral and spicy hops.

Mouthfeel
Medium bodied, smooth, crisp, and refreshing.

Overall
Exceptionally balanced and flavorful. Highly underrated.

The dark reddish colored beer pours into an nonic Imperial Pint glass with a 1 1/2” ivory head that recedes slowly to eventually become a thin island of on the liquid while leaving lots of scattered rings and patches of lacing on the sides of the glass. Sipping creates some scattered patches of lacing, most of which cling to the sides of the glass.

The aromas are filled with rich caramel-like malt and backed up by a light herbal character from the hops.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose with the rich toasted caramel malt and a light herbal character. The malt sweetness is up front but there is also some herbal bitterness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and fairly smooth with the light but persistent carbonation. The finish begins as the toasted caramel malt sweetness begins to fade to reveal the lightly herbal slightly bitter and semi-dry ending.

On the whole a solid workmanlike beer that provides a tasty change of pace from hop heavy beers.